Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey: determination with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method

Abstract

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are probably the most widespread toxins of natural origin. More than 6,000 plant species produce these toxic compounds. Bees can forage on flowers of plants producing PAs, which leads to contamination of honey with the toxic compounds. To determine the contamination of honey with PAs, a sensitive method based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry has been developed.

Keywords

• honey
• food
• pyrrolizidine alkaloids
• lc-ms